February, 17 2010, 01:13pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rick Bielke
Communications Director
(Ph)202.293.0222
Major Party Donors Tell Speaker Pelosi: Pass Fair Elections
Nearly 60 major Democratic party donors sent a letter to Speaker of
the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) today urging her to push the Fair
Elections Now Act (S. 752, H.R. 1826) as the response to the Supreme
Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC.
"Allowing
corporations to fund political speech deeply undermines Congress'
ability to take strong stances without fear of corporate retribution,"
said Jonathan Rose, president of Jonathan Rose Companies* and a signer
of the letter.
WASHINGTON
Nearly 60 major Democratic party donors sent a letter to Speaker of
the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) today urging her to push the Fair
Elections Now Act (S. 752, H.R. 1826) as the response to the Supreme
Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC.
"Allowing
corporations to fund political speech deeply undermines Congress'
ability to take strong stances without fear of corporate retribution,"
said Jonathan Rose, president of Jonathan Rose Companies* and a signer
of the letter. "It makes no sense, for example, that foreign
corporations have been given rights to America's natural resources
since the 1870s without adequately bidding for that right, making it
harder to pay down our national deficit. The only logical explanation
is that far too many members of Congress and Senators are more
influenced by corporate contributors than the public's concern about
our deficit. We need legislators brave enough to pass the Fair
Elections Now Act."
According to the letter:
"Congress
should fully focus on serving its constituents and solving our
country's problems. Instead, as we well know from the solicitation
calls we receive, our political leaders must fundraise constantly."We
agree with President Obama's concern, as expressed in his State of the
Union address, that Congress must address the harm done by the Citizens
United ruling. We urge that you embrace the Fair Elections Now Act (HR
1826) as a leading measure to ensure, in the words of our President,
that American elections are not "bankrolled by America's most powerful
interests."
The signatories are all major
donors to the Democratic National Committee or the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee. The letter is also being sent to
several hundred additional major party donors today urging them to join.
Sponsored
by Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.), the Fair
Elections Now Act would give candidates for Congress the option of
running for office on a system that blends limited public funds with a
4 to 1 match on donations of $100 or less. With Fair Elections,
candidates would be able to use their grassroots base of support to
defend against the political retaliation now available because of
Citizens United. The legislation has the bipartisan and cross-caucus
support of 134 U.S. House members. Companion legislation in the Senate
is sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
Today's letter
is the latest of many from a variety of audiences urging Speaker Pelosi
to make Fair Elections a priority. Letters pushing Fair Elections from
40 American business leaders, 200 faith leaders, and 30 national
constituency groups have all been delivered to Speaker Pelosi and
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). In addition, 177,000
petitions from Americans across the country have been delivered to
House and Senate offices in Washington, D.C. and in districts across
the country.
The full letter is available for download at https://www.fairelectionsnow.org/speakerpelosi
# # #
*Corporation affiliations used for identification purposes only.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
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